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By Aaron Coloma
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The Washington Nationals designated right-handed starter Miles Mikolas for assignment Wednesday amid what has been the worst season of his career.
Mikolas, who joined the Nationals on a one-year, $2.25 million deal in the offseason, has been the worst pitcher in MLB with more than 115 innings pitched in terms of ERA. He began the year as a pure starter, but began piggybacking early in the season after posting a 12.41 ERA through three starts.
Through his 116 innings pitched this season, Mikolas has a 3-9 record with a 5.82 ERA, only striking out 58 batters in the process. Additionally, his 27 homers are the second most he has ever allowed in his career, nearly matching last year's total of 29 in 40.1 fewer innings.
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Two of Mikolas' last three starts resulted in losses, contributing to a stretch which has all but knocked the Nationals out of the postseason race.
The Nationals sat just three one game out of a Wild Card spot on July 26, but are now five games out of both the Wild Card and division lead after a nine-game skid stretching into August. They've had one of the worst pitching staffs in the majors all season, posting a 4.74 ERA through 121 games — ranking them 27th in MLB.
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Who is Miles Mikolas?
Mikolas initially came in to patch up the Nationals' rotation following the departure of MacKenzie Gore to the Texas Rangers in the offseason. He posted a positive bWAR in 2025 despite being in his age-36 season, and served as a solid arm towards the back of the St. Louis Cardinals' rotation.
He spent seven years with the Cardinals, enjoying the majority of his success with them after a three-year stint in NPB. He returned with the first of his All-Star seasons in 2018, leading the NL with 18 wins while posting a 2.83 ERA as he placed sixth in Cy Young voting.
Mikolas' other All-Star season came in 2022, when he had a 3.29 ERA through 202.1 innings pitched and struck out a career-high 153 batters.
While Mikolas is clearly past his prime, there are plenty of teams who could take a chance on the right-hander despite his admittedly rough season in 2026.
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